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William Henry Harrison, the first Whig president, died shortly after taking office. Though he didn’t live long enough to enact his ambitious agenda, it would be a serious mistake to underestimate his contribution to the American story. Richard Lim, host of the This American President podcast, explains why Harrison matters.
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Script:
The 1840 presidential election featured one of the most famous political slogans in American history. You may have heard of it: “Tippecanoe and Tyler, too!”
The “Tyler” of the slogan was John Tyler, the vice-presidential candidate.
But who was Tippecanoe?
It wasn’t a person. It was the site of a famous battle. The general who won that battle was William Henry Harrison, the man who became the ninth president of the United States.
Born into a leading Virginia family on February 9th, 1773, his father, Benjamin Harrison V, was one of the fifty-six men who signed the Declaration of Independence.
William, the youngest of seven children, grew up on the family’s large estate. But when his father died suddenly, the cushy life of his youth quickly became a memory. Like most Virginia planters, the estate was more debt than profit. And at 18, William was on his own.
He joined the army and was posted to the Northwest Territory – an area that includes what is now Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
Harrison quickly established himself as a brave soldier and competent administrator. In 1801, when Harrison was just 27, President John Adams appointed him governor of the entire region – an office Harrison would hold for 12 years.
As governor, Harrison was a passionate promoter of westward expansion. He negotiated seven treaties with the tribes of the region, acquiring about 50 million acres of land for the United States in the process.
While many of the Indians adapted to changing circumstances and melde..
